Infant Carrier Support

ABSTRACT

A belt mounted infant carrier support device comprising a belt clip, an attached upward projecting hook-like protrusion upon which the lip of an infant carrier rests and a support cross member below the hook.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to specialized carrier ortransport devices, and in particular to a belt clip support mechanismfor a hand-carried rigid container, such as an infant carrier seat orsimilar device for transporting the device from one location to another.

One type of common infant carrier (FIG. 1 a) uses a rigid handle thatattaches to the sides of the carrier and forms an arch above the carrierwith a handgrip centered above the infant. This type of carrier isfrequently combined with a base unit strapped to a car seat to form acombination car seat carrier. The handle for these carriers isperpendicular to the baby's body making it awkward to carry at theuser's side. Because of the handle's orientation, the user's arm istwisted so the palm faces either forward or backward placing a strain onthe elbow. Furthermore, the width of the carrier forces the hand to beheld away from the body, increasing the strain on the elbow, shoulder,and back (FIGS. 1 b and 1 c). The weight of the baby plus the weight ofthe carrier would typically be in the 15 to 25 lb range. This requiressubstantial strength by the user and is only practical for a limitedduration. A hand-carried basket found in grocery stores is a similarcarrier device with similar problems. A device is needed to shift theweight to the hip region to reduce the strain on the arm and back whiletransporting the loaded carrier.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a simple andeasily manufactured device to help support the weight of an infantcarrier, grocery basket, or similar rigid carrier. The device clips onto a belt and has a hook-like protrusion upon which a lip of the carrierrests. Below the hook is a support cross member to further distributethe weight by pressing against the user's hip.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate by way of example the principles ofthe invention.

FIG. 1 a shows a typical infant carrier.

FIG. 1 b shows a typical infant carrier in the transport position.

FIG. 1 c is a oblique view of a typical infant carrier in the transportposition.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the infant carrier support.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the device.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the device.

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the device.

FIG. 6 shows the device attached to a belt.

FIG. 7 is a detailed side view of the device.

FIG. 8 is a detailed perspective view of the device.

FIG. 9 a is a diagram showing an infant carrier held out to the side.

FIG. 9 b is a diagram showing an infant carrier supported by the beltclip.

FIG. 9 c is a diagram showing a grocery basket supported by the beltclip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention enhances the usefulness of infant carriers,hand-carried grocery baskets, and similar devices having a rigid orsemi-rigid structure. The apparatus makes it easier for a person totransport such a carrier by shifting a significant amount of weight tothe user's hip region.

The apparatus may be viewed as having three sections: a clip forattaching the device to a belt, a rigid hook attached to the lowerexterior end of the belt clip, and a support cross member extendingbelow the hook to further distribute the weight against the user's hip.The apparatus would, however, be manufactured as a single object of anylightweight malleable material, such as plastic. FIGS. 2-5 show aperspective view, a side view, and front and rear views of theapparatus, respectively. FIG. 6 shows the device attached to a belt.

A detailed side-view diagram of the infant carrier support is shown inFIG. 7. As depicted in this figure, the belt-clip section is generallyin the shape of an inverted “U” that slips over the user's belt. Theinner side to the belt clip 21 is about 2 to 3 inches in length whilethe outer side 22 in total extends 5 to 6 inches in length to encompassthe hook and support cross member. The width of the belt clip section isabout 1½ to 2 inches. The inner and outer sides of the belt clip areconnected at their top ends 23 and open at their bottom ends to form aslot 24 to accommodate a belt. The slot is approximately 1¼ to 1¾ inchesin height and approximately ¼ inch in width, sufficient to fit mostbelts. The entry to the slot 25 may be somewhat offset from the verticalaxis of the slot. The inner side of the belt clip 21 at its bottom endmay have a rounded knob 26. This knob 26 and the slot offset tend tosecure the belt within the slot.

The outer side of the belt clip 22 has a hook-like projection 27attached to its outer surface at about half way down its length (about 3inches from its top end). The hook-like projection 27 extends outwardsapproximately 1 inch at an upward angle 28 of from 5 to 30 degrees andpreferably about 10 degrees with respect to the perpendicular to theouter side of the belt clip 22. The hook-like projection 27 ends in arounded knob 29. The hook-like projection extends the width of the outerbelt clip side 22 and further has an open slot 30 down the middle toaccommodate a structural feature found on the outer lip of many infantcarriers (see the detailed perspective view of FIG. 8). The upward angle28 of the hook-like projection and the knob 29 at its end tend to securethe carrier device.

Below the hook-like projection 27, the outer side 22 is initially curvedback toward the inner side 21 (31 in FIG. 7) and then is bent outwardsat about a 10-degree angle (32 in FIG. 7) with respect to the plane ofthe upper portion of the outer belt clip side 22. The outward bentportion 33 is increased in width to form a support cross member. Whenthe edge of an infant carrier or other device engages the hook, it notonly presses downward on the belt but also tends to rotate the beltoutwards. The support cross member then presses against the user's hip,further distributing the carrier weight to the hip region.

FIG. 9 demonstrates a method of carrying an infant carrier seat orsimilar carrier by attaching it to a person's belt. FIG. 9 a shows onemethod of carrying an infant seat without assistance. FIG. 9 b shows amethod of supporting an infant carrier seat in which the foot end of theinfant carrier seat is attached to a person's belt, transferring asignificant amount of weight to the hip region and reducing strain onthe arm, back, and shoulder of the person carrying the seat. In thiscase, the means for attaching the carrier to a belt is to rest the footedge of the infant carrier upon the hook-like projection of the beltclip. The side of the carrier could also be attached to the belt cliprather than the foot end as an alternative method of support. FIG. 9 cshows a grocery carrier supported by the belt clip.

1. A method of carrying an infant carrier seat, said infant carrier seathaving a rigid handle that attaches to the sides of the carrier andforms an arch above the carrier with a handgrip centered above theinfant and the seat having a head end and a foot end, the carryingmethod comprising attaching the foot end of said infant carrier seat toa belt worn by a person carrying said infant carrier seat while saidperson holds said handgrip with his arm extended outward from theperson's body in the plane formed by the head and shoulders, wherebysubstantial weight of the infant carrier seat is transferred to thebelt.
 2. The method of carrying an infant carrier seat of claim 1,wherein the side of said carrier is attached to said belt.
 3. Abelt-mounted apparatus to facilitate carrying an infant carrier seat orsimilar rigid container, said apparatus comprising: a. an invertedU-shaped belt-mounted device having an inner short leg and an outer longleg, said outer long leg extending approximately 2 to 3 times the lengthof said inner short leg, each leg having a top and a bottom end, the topend of each leg being connected together to form a slot to accommodate abelt; b. an outwardly-extending projection attached to said outer longleg approximately halfway between the top end and the bottom end of saidouter long leg and extending outward from said outer leg with an upwardslant of 5 to 30 degrees from the perpendicular to said outer leg; andc. a support cross member comprised of that portion of said outer legbelow said outwardly-extending projection, said support cross memberhaving a width approximately 1.5 to 2 times the width of the outer legabove the outwardly-extending projection.
 4. A belt-mounted apparatus tofacilitate carrying an infant carrier seat or similar rigid container,said apparatus comprising: a. an inverted U-shaped belt-mounted devicehaving an inner short leg extending about 2 to 3 inches in length and anouter long leg extending about 5 to 6 inches in length, each leg havinga width of about 1 to 2 inches and having a top and a bottom end, thetop end of each leg being connected together to thereby form a slot toaccommodate a belt; b. an approximately one inch outwardly-extendingprojection attached to said outer leg approximately halfway between thetop end and the bottom end of said outer leg with an upward slant of 5to 30 degrees from the perpendicular to said outer leg; and c. a supportcross member comprised of that portion of said outer leg below saidoutwardly-extending projection, said support cross member bending inwarduntil it approximately touches a plane formed by said inner leg and thenbending outward 5 to 15 degrees with the width increasing toapproximately 1.5 to 2 times the width of the outer leg above theoutwardly-extending projection.
 5. The belt-mounted apparatus of claim 4wherein said outwardly-extending projection extends the width of saidouter leg, has a rounded knob outer end, and a small slot dividing itswidth.